Page 54 of Outcast Fae
When I put my hand on her shoulder, she jolted, staring at me with red-rimmed eyes. “Oh, Tally,” she said, “what do you want?”
“Quick, Gina. Can you give me one of those cloaking spells like you did by the dome?”
She pulled back, glancing at Henry before answering. “Why? What’s happening?”
My eyes darted around the group. Daniella seemed to be asleep and Patricia, Chan, and Elon were nowhere in sight. Sinasre watched me carefully from across the clearing.
How much should I tell Gina? If I wanted her to help me, I needed to explain myself and, as a fae, I couldn’t lie.
“It’s Vaughn. I think he knows something, but he won’t tell me. I want to follow him and find out what he knows.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sinasre sit up straighter.
Gina’s eyes narrowed, but she stuffed a hand in her backpack, presumably to touch her egg. “I don’t want to break any more rules.”
“I’ll take the blame if anything happens.”
She scrutinized my face, then said. “You’ll be the one risking your neck, so I guess it’s okay.”
She sounded like she didn’t care as long as whatever consequence only happened to me. It didn’t matter. I wasn’t here to impress Gina. I needed to know what Vaughn was up to, and quickly, before he got himself shot.
Gina lay her free hand on her thigh, fingers twitching slightly as she concentrated. It was clear she was trying to weave a spell but was going to great lengths to hide it. When it came, there was no visible cue to her spell, but I felt its energy blow over my face. The tingle of magic spread over my skin and slid down my back and arms.
“There,” Gina said. “I can’t see you or hear you. Vaughn won’t be able to, either.”
I wondered if that were true given his werewolf senses, but I had to try. Without another word, I turned and launched myself into the sky. When I glanced back, Sinasre was on his feet, scanning the air.
Turning my eyes ahead, I searched for Vaughn.
The day was waning. It had to be six or seven PM, given the angle of the sun, still light enough to spot Vaughn’s tracks in the sand. I passed over the area where we tussled, feeling warm and embarrassed as my eyes scanned over the mess our bodies had made.
For an instant, I’d thought he wanted me, too. But no. He’d only reacted physically to my body, but then he’d remembered he hated me, so…
I huffed, shaking my head. I needed to focus.
Vaughn’s trail led into the jungle where it became harder to track. Slowing my pace, I wove through the trees, keeping my attention trained on any changes in the foliage. Vaughn was large and, though he moved lithely, there were still tell-tale signs of the path he’d taken through the brush. I followed it as fast as I dared, zigzagging around branches while worrying about him sensing me and about any possible rules I might be breaking. My fear had increased now that I knew they were capable of murder.
It took an hour before I spotted him, cutting through the jungle in his wolf form. I watched from above as his massive body bounded over logs and swerved around trees. It was still hard to reconcile that the animal down below was Vaughn, but I knew it to be true.
He stopped, snout up, scenting the air. His eyes tracked through the dense trees. I froze, hoping Gina’s spell worked.
He remained immobile, sniffing, his ears up. Finally, he took off again.
I breathed a sigh of relief and followed.
Soon, we came to a cliff, one that overlooked the frothy sea. From my vantage point, I spotted two other werewolves up ahead, waiting. My heart began to pound. I opened my mouth to shout a warning, then bit my tongue. Vaughnhadto know they were there. His keen sense of smell wouldn’t miss their scent.
Suspicion wiggled inside my chest, especially when I realized these werewolves didn’t look like the ones that had attacked us. They looked more like Vaughn, less wild, more human.
Vaughn ran toward them at full pelt as I squeezed my fists and waited.
A moment later, he crested the hill, and both werewolves turned in his direction. They didn’t attack. Instead, they began to transform. Fur turned into flesh. Arms and legs shrunk and spines straightened. Human features took shape on faces that were formerly lupine. Finally, two naked men stood on the hill and waited for Vaughn to do the same.
Vaughn stopped and transformed, his naked self on full display as he stepped toward the two strangers.
I blushed and averted my eyes, but I needed to get closer to hear what they were saying. I hovered as close as I dared, desperately craning my neck to catch their words as the wind tried to blow them away.
“...security is tighter now… can’t get in.” The taller of the two said. He had a thick brown beard and broad shoulders, but barely any hair on his head.
